Let's Talk Trajan Decius

Caesar Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius Augustus was so evidently so difficult to distinguish from other Romans that he needed no less than seven names to clarify the matter. In all seriousness, he was a distinguished senator before Philip I sent him to quell the revolt of Pacatianus, which he accomplished with evidently so much aplomb that his troops elevated him to the office of emperor. As you can imagine, that did not sit well with Philip, so they marched against each other with the outcome that Philip and his armies were defeated in Verona.

The Senate gave the new emperor the additional name Traianus (because six names wasn’t enough), referring to the glory days of a previous good emperor. The new Trajan set out with the good intentions of restoring Roman military strength and public piety. He issued a remarkable imperial decree stating that all the inhabitants of the empire had to sacrifice to the traditional Roman gods before magistrates, to prove their loyalty to the ancient deities. This of course was anathema to the fledgling Christian church, but the history and analysis of this episode is lengthy and complicated. If you’re interested in this genre of history, I will suggest an excellent wiki article entitled Anti-Christian policies in the Roman Empire.

Trajan Decius met his end in the Battle of Abritus at the hands of the Goths, who he marched against with his son Herennius Etruscus and the general Trebonianus Gallus. In order to cheer on his soldiers, Decius said, “Let no one mourn; the death of one soldier is not a great loss to the republic." He promptly proved the point by marching against the enemy in the midst of his troops and quickly meeting his demise. Was it an act of sheer bravery, or sheer fatuousness? I think perhaps some delegation of authority might have served his purpose better.

He ruled for only 2 years, but his output of coinage was immense, and most of his issues can’t be considered even scarce - he comes in at number 40 on the ERIC rarity index. Here is an ant with Abundantia. It would seem that his ants are generally as nice as Philip I’s - well-crafted on neatly-trimmed flans of good metal. (He rather reminds of my uncle, who at the age of 90 told us that he was going to quit smoking because he wanted to live longer. The family all had a good chuckle at the time, but it worked - he’s 100 now.)



Trajan Decius, AD 249- 251
AR Antoninianus, 21mm, 4.5g, 2h; Rome mint.
Obv.: IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG; radiate, draped, cuirassed bust right.
Rev.: ABVNDANTIA AVG; Abundantia standing right, emptying cornucopia held in both hands.
Reference: RIC IVc 10(b), p. 129

Post your coins of Trajan Decius and any relevant or irrelevant reflections...

 

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I got this sweet one from JAZ Numismatics


Trajan Decius, AD 249-251
AR Antoninianus, 22mm, 4.2g, 12h; Rome mint.
Obv.: IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG Radiate, draped, cuirassed bust right.
Rev. DACIA Dacia, wearing long robes, standing left, holding vertical staff with ass’s head.
Reference: RIC IVc 12b, p. 121

 

Trajan Decius
Billon Antoninianus
Rome AD 250
21.7 mm, 3.62 gm
Obv: IMP CMQ TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, radiate bust, r.
Rev: VICTORIA AVG, Victory advancing l., holding wreath and palm.
Refs: RIC 29c; Hunter 13; RSC 113a; RCV 9387

 

Nice coins @John Anthony and @Sallent

 

I have but one Trajan Decius to give!


RI Trajan Decius 249-251 CE AR Ant Dacia

Mine has that s-eating grin!

 

dang...even to sign his initials was time consuming..

Itial here: CGMQTDA

I posted my tet of him recently, here's a little provincial from edessa. I had no idea who this was when I picked it up, it was in a lot of unidentified coins.

 

Great coins all

 

Here's another Pannoniae to keep Bing's company.



Trajan Decius c.249-251 AD
Antoninianus 3.04g 21mm
IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, radiate draped cuirassed bust right
PANNONIAE, the two Pannoniae veiled, wearing robes and holding standards

I believe (don't quote me on this) the two Pannoniae represent Pannonia Superior (western) and Pannonia Inferior (eastern) - the original Trajan divided Pannonia into two parts after the Dacian wars.

Nice coins everyone!

 

Yet another with the ass's head (but it's a cool type, no?)



I really want a double-sest. Anyone have one to post?

 

Silver Antoninianus
IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG - radiate, draped, & cuirassed bust right
DACIA - Dacia standing left, holding draco standard or vertical staff surmounted by ass's head
Mint: (249-251 AD)
Wt./Size/Axis: 4.07g / 22mm / -
References:

• RIC 12b
• RSC 16

Notes: May 11, 16 - I am pretty sure that the "ass's head" is in fact a draco.

 

I'm going to go with Dacian draco. Who came up with ass's head anyway?

 

That's a great image, and that reverse die looks like it was on its last legs.

 

Yeah, the pairing of fresh obverse and worn reverse dies is pretty jarring, even if quite common during this period.

 

Quite common today, is there anybody without this coin

 

I've always found his restoration ants to be interesting. I'm guessing those coins had something to do with the "returning to the traditional gods" business.

Sadly, I have no relevant coins to show, but here's an article about them at NGC: https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/3563/ . I'd like to collect the whole series of these some day, but, alas, too many coins, too little time (and money).

 

Well, my description from JAZ Numismatics said it was an ass head. Ask JA about that.

 

Twins (almost)

 

That's taken straight from RIC, but here's a page that discusses the draco at length.

 

Wonderful posts!!!

I'll add a sestertius and a antoninianus...

 

I picked up my Trajan Decius (eBay seller's photo) several years back when I was teaching a course on Arthurian legend. The Hollywood film KING ARTHUR with Clive Owen and Keira Knightly had just come out, popularizing the "Sarmatian Connection" theory; i.e., the theory that certain features of the Arthurian legend can be traced to Sarmatian/Pannonian/Dacian Roman cavalrymen stationed in Britannia just prior to the Saxon invasions of the 5th century. The association of Arthurian kingship with dragons (e.g., in names such as Uther Pendragon) is thought to be relatable to the importance of military draco standards from the Dacian region. There's even a moment in the KING ARTHUR film in which Artorius is on a hill holding the draco standard, which can be heard fainting whistling as the wind whips through it. The belief is that the sound of many of these at the front of an army could indeed be terrifying. At any rate, the Sarmatian Connection will never be proved, but it's an interesting confluence of Roman history and early Arthuriana, and this Trajan Decius coin offers an affordable, material connection to this intersection of history and myth.